Scars
by LifeEqualsMusic
Summary: She rolled up her sleeves, exposing her pale forearms, covered in thin white lines. 'You think I got these marks in the military? I got them from protecting my sister because she didn't wear a necklace that he bought for her.' She shook her head and turned away. 'I've never been faced with an adversary that frightened me half as much as my father.' Qrowin, post Volume 3.


**After that finale, I think we could all use some cute Qrowin. Spoilers for Volume 3.**

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Qrow closed the door to his hotel room behind him, leaning against it with a sigh. After bringing Ruby and Yang back to Patch, he'd been flown to Atlas- halfway across the damn continent- by Ironwood's request.

The battle at Beacon had ended tragically. Several students had been killed, even more were badly injured, and to top it off, Oz was missing. Qrow's muscles ached, and the clothes he hadn't been able to change out of for three days were stained with dried blood- some of it his, some of it not.

Groaning with effort, he pushed himself off the door and leaned his sword against the wall next to the comically large bed before throwing himself onto the soft mattress. Before he even had a chance to close his eyes, though, there was a sharp knock on his door.

'You have _got_ to be kidding me,' he muttered under his breath, rolling onto the floor with a thump. 'Jimmy, if I come open that door and you're still there, I won't be held responsible for what happens,' he called as he straightened up and staggered over, ripping the door open and glaring at the person standing behind it.

'Ice Queen? Oof!' The elder Schnee heir barrelled into him, her arms wrapping around his waist tightly, with no regard for the large gash under his torn coat. Qrow lowered his arms onto her shoulders awkwardly, taken aback by her behaviour. He felt her take a deep breath, and she retreated, snapping back into her stiff military posture.

'Qrow, I heard what you did for the General back at Beacon, and I wanted to come and personally express my gratitude.' Her voice was even, but Qrow could tell she was barely keeping her emotions steady.

'Really.' His own voice was dubious. 'You came to my hotel room at,' he glanced at the clock in the small kitchen behind him, 'two in the morning, just to say "hey, thanks for saving my boss?" You two an item, or what?' Schnee's posture drooped, and for the first time that night, Qrow saw how ragged she looked. Her hair was falling out of its normally tight bun, her uniform was rumpled, and her eyes had dark rings around them, as though she hadn't slept in days. His expression softened.

'Ice Queen? You feeling all right, there?' Her head snapped up angrily, and though her eyes looked tired, he could still see the usual indignant spark in them.

'Don't call me that, Branwen. Do you know how worried I've been these past few days? My sister's school was attacked by Grimm and some insane woman, and do you know where I was- what I was doing to help?' She bit her lip and glanced down at her hands. 'Nothing. I was doing nothing. My father had me scooped up by the Dust Company and confined to a room so he could "keep me safe."' She scoffed. 'More like lock me up so he could keep up appearances.' Her hands balled into fists. 'I had to sneak out a window just to get here, Qrow.' A snort escaped the Huntsman despite his best efforts, earning him a glare so filled with venom that he almost shivered.

'Sorry, Ice Queen, but that's not going to work on me. "Oh, I'm Winter Schnee, and my daddy loves me _too_ much."' His voice was teasing, but his smirk faltered after a hand connected with his face.

'That's rich, Qrow. He's all smiles when it comes to public appearances, but after those events, behind closed doors, what do you think happens? He was silent, rubbing his stinging cheek. 'If we slouched, or talked too much, or we stumbled while walking, he would beat us for hours.' She rolled up her sleeves, exposing her pale forearms, covered in thin white lines. 'You think I got these marks in the military? I got them from protecting my sister because she didn't wear a necklace that he bought for her.' She shook her head and turned away. 'I've never been faced with an adversary that frightened me half as much as my father.' Qrow reached forward and picked up one of her arms, inspecting the thin scars carefully.

'I- I didn't know, Ice- Winter. Look, I'm sure this fancy place has some tea or whatever in here, why don't you come inside?' Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, and he rolled his own. 'I'm not trying anything, I promise. You just- you shouldn't go on your own right now, okay?' He tugged her into his room, closing the door softly behind her. She finally took in his appearance and arched a perfect eyebrow as she propped her sabre on the wall beside his sword.

'I hope you cleaned those wounds, Qrow.' He ignored her, choosing instead to dig through the large basket of tea bags. 'Qrow.' Still nothing. She reached up to his shoulder and spun him around. 'Qrow!' Finally, he acknowledged her.

'How many flavours of tea do they think I'll need? I'm only staying for two days.' He shook his head and turned back to the basket. 'Is, uh, _chamomile_ okay?'

'Yes, that will be fine. Go sit down and I'll brew this. You clearly haven't take care of yourself since Beacon.' He sighed and slid onto one of the barstools near the counter. He watched as Winter prepared her tea with practiced movements. He'd never have guessed that her home life was so… broken. Suddenly, the things he'd noticed about her made a lot more sense. The way she held herself, as if her spine was made of steel, or the way she fought, how he could practically see the gears in her head turning. When she caught herself slouching, her face would show a tinge of panic, and when he had caught her wrist in the hallway, she'd recoiled in fear.

Winter finished brewing her tea and placed it to the side to let it cool, turning her attention to the man slumped over the counter.

'Qrow, if those wounds get infected, you'll be bedridden for days. Get up, we're dealing with this now.' He lifted his head and pushed himself off the bar.

'Fine, I'll go clean up.' He slid off his stool and stumbled into the young woman standing at his side. She steadied him, then pulled his arm over her shoulder to support his weight.

'Come on, I'll help you,' she said in a strangely soft manner, and the pair slowly made their way to the small bathroom. 'Up,' she commanded, and, keeping with tonight's theme of compliance, Qrow obliged, managing to hop up onto the vanity and balance himself. Winter's hands dropped to the buttons on his jacket, fidgeting with them a little before unfastening the first one smoothly.

'I didn't realize it was going to be this kind of night, Schnee.' She glared up at him, a blush colouring her cheeks.

'Shut up. You're clearly too drunk to do this yourself, and since I have no interest in taking you to the hospital when you come down with infection, I have to fill in.' She undid another button as she held his gaze. 'Besides, I know perfectly well how to treat an open wound.' The last button was free, and his coat fell open. Her gaze fell to his abdomen to assess the severity of his condition, and he heard her breath catch.

'Like what you see?' He couldn't hide his grin as her blush deepened.

'You'd like that. I thought you were a talented Huntsman. Why do you have so many scars?' She ghosted her fingers along a long, jagged one on his stomach, and he couldn't hold back his shiver at her touch. She lifted an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

'Even the best Huntsmen were just students at some point, Schnee. These are from a long time ago.' He shrugged his jacket off and picked up her hand, placing it over four wide gashes on his chest. 'This one's from an Ursa. Bastard caught me off guard, but I got the last laugh. Its head is hanging in my study.' Winter laughed, a musical sound that Qrow had never heard before.

'You don't have a study,' she accused, curling her fingers against his chest, and the older man grinned.

'You don't know that.' Something in Winter's eyes changed, and she turned away, looking for a first aid kit. Qrow hadn't realized how close they had been, and now that she was gone, even if it was only a few feet away, the room felt colder. As Winter found first aid supplies, she slipped her jacket off and laid it on the bathtub.

'This… This may hurt, I'm afraid,' her voice was steady as she unscrewed the bottle of rubbing alcohol and applied it to some gauze.

'I can take it, Schnee. Just get 'em clean.' Winter nodded and probed gently at the freshly slashed skin. Qrow hissed, and she couldn't help but smile.

'I haven't even done anything yet. Are you sure you can handle this?' He gritted his teeth.

'Just do it.' She pressed the gauze against his wound and his hand flew up to his hair, pushing it back and forcing himself to breathe deeply.

'I'm so sorry. This one is almost done,' she promised, and she removed the bloody gauze, inspecting the area. She carefully wiped out the rest of the debris with fresh gauze, then placed a bandage over the whole area. Qrow slumped against her, exhausted from the pain.

'Tell me that's it. Tell me I'm done.' Winter bit her lip and propped him back up.

'Just one more.' She lifted her hand to his face and leaned toward him, checking the shallow cut on his cheekbone. 'This one shouldn't be… so…' She seemed to realize how close their faces were, and Qrow was watching her intently, his red eyes surprisingly clear. She cleared her throat. 'This one will be easier to treat, I think.' He smirked weakly.

'You think? Is that your professional opinion?' She huffed.

'It's the only one you're going to get,' she snapped, her military personality rearing up for a moment before she took more fresh gauze. She dabbed at the cut, her other hand coming up to the other side of his face, steadying it. Before he could stop himself, he leaned into her touch, studying her face as she worked. He barely felt the sting of the alcohol as he watched her, noting the way her eyebrows would come together when she concentrated, and a little line would form between them, or the way her face lit up a little when she extracted a stubborn piece of dirt. The heiress smoothed a small bandage over his cut, her fingers lingering on his face. He brought his hand up to cover hers, his gaze never wavering.

'I'm really sorry, Winter,' he murmured, his voice barely audible, 'about your family, about Jimmy, about… about everything.'

'You don't have anything to be sorry for,' she replied, 'I don't make it a habit of letting people know about my personal life, and I know that the General can be… grating.' Qrow's eyebrows flew up in surprise.

' _You're_ badmouthing Jimmy? _You?_ I never-' She placed a finger over his lips, silencing him.

'Shut up. I- I wasn't entirely honest, earlier.' She bit her lip, lost in thought. 'I didn't just come here to thank you for saving Ironwood, I… I wanted to thank you for coming back safely. As much as we fight, and as much as grate on each other, I never wanted you to-' She was cut off by his lips colliding with hers, his arm coming up to wrap around her waist, pulling her toward him. Her hands dropped to his chest, and for one terrible moment, Qrow thought he had miscalculated. Finally, she leaned in and kissed him back, her hands running across the scars covering his torso. He cradled the back of her head, and the pins keeping her bun in place finally failed, letting her hair tumble down her back and over his hand.

She nipped at his lower lip uncertainly, and he granted her access eagerly. Her tongue probed at his own, learning the most sensitive parts in his mouth, and leaving him breathless. He slipped down from the counter and backed her to the wall, pinning her against it, breaking the kiss. She looked up at him through her thick lashes.

'What happened to hating me?' Her voice was unstable, her breathing ragged.

'I never hated you, Winter. Haven't you heard of kids that push each other's buttons to hide their true feelings? I adore you, Ice Queen.' She froze at his words, stiffening in his arms. His face reddened and he released her from his hold. 'S-sorry. Ah, just forget I said anything,' he mumbled, turning away, 'listen, you can take the bed if you'd like. I'll make do on the floor.' A delicate hand touched his arm, and she stepped up beside him.

'Look, Qrow. We don't have to make these decisions tonight. Let's just start with this, and we'll see where it goes. She turned his head back to face her, kissing him softly. 'And you don't have to sleep on the floor. We can share the bed.' A hopeful spark dashed across his expression, and she laughed.

'Not like that, you old crow. What kind of girl do you take me for?' She led him out of the bathroom and toward the huge bed, where she pushed him down. 'Take your boots off and lie down,' she instructed, and he winked.

'Yes, ma'am.' She rolled her eyes and went to retrieve their coats, pulling the now useless pins out her hair.

'Shit.' A grin broke out on his face at her rare curse.

'What was that, Schnee?' She turned back to face him.

'My tea went cold.' He flopped back onto the soft bed and laughed a real laugh for the first time in months.

'Come on, we can heat it up later. I have a meeting with Ironwood in-' he checked the clock, 'six hours, and I have three days of sleep to catch up on.' She sighed, but complied, pulling her boots off on the way to the bed. She released the top few buttons of her shirt and slid into the bed next to Qrow. A grin spread across her face.

'Never thought I'd willingly get in a bed with Qrow Branwen,' she mused, and he laughed, wrapping and arm around her waist.

'First time for everything, Schnee.' To his immense surprise, she slid down in the bed and snuggled against his side.

'I suppose you're right.' The Huntsman's heart swelled, and he slid down beside her, kissing the top of her head affectionately. Together, wrapped in each other's arms, the unlikely pair drifted off into a well-earned sleep.

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 **This is going to be a looooong hiatus.**


End file.
